Knee won't sideline Wade

MIAMI — Favoring a stiff left knee, Dwyane Wade hobbled to the yellow maintenance cart and slipped onto its flatbed. He propped himself up against the front seat and settled back for the short ride to the Heat's locker room.

"Can I drive?" Wade asked. "I always wanted to drive one of these things."

Sorry, not today, he was told.

Wade's request will have to wait. Right now, the only significant driving the Heat want to see from their flashy guard is toward the basket.

One day after salvaging Miami's season with a 42-point, 13-rebound performance in Game 3 of the NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Wade spent Wednesday getting treatment on his aching left knee, which he injured when teammate Shaquille O'Neal accidentally fell into his leg.

"I was a little nervous about it this morning," Wade said, gingerly running his fingers across the black tights over his knee. "But I'm going to try and go. Hopefully I can be 100 percent."

Hope isn't enough in these parts. Considering the stakes in Game 4, prayer may be required of the Heat faithful.

Although he wasn't at full speed late in Tuesday's game, Wade brought his team back from the edge of almost certain extinction by scoring 15 points — 12 over the final 6:34 — in the fourth quarter to rally Miami from a 13-point hole and pull the Heat within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

According to the league, it was the second largest fourth-quarter comeback in finals history, and, it was the latest testament to Wade's soaring status as one of the game's best clutch players.

"He's just fabulous," O'Neal said. "He's a great one. And he's so young with a lot of room to improve. It's going to be fun to watch him."

Beg your pardon, Diesel. He already is.

In the final 12 minutes, with a nonexistent margin for error and the stakes as high as possible, Wade, slowed by flu-like symptoms during these playoffs, was magnificent from start to finish.

Seizing control of the game, the 24-year-old simply would not allow the Heat to lose.

He made jumpers. He darted for layups. He grabbed rebounds. He even tipped away the Mavericks' last-second inbounds play.

Unstoppable, Wade evoked the usual comparisons to Michael Jordan, a parallel he's not comfortable with at all.